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Monday, September 23, 2013

Vatican
City, 22 September 2013 (VIS) – This morning Pope Francis arrived
in Cagliari, on the Italian island of Sardinia, on his second
pastoral visit in Italy, following his first trip to the Lampedusa in
Sicily. Both islands are affected by serious problems: in Sicily, the
arrival of immigrants, and in Sardinia, the lack of work on account
of the closure of many factories.

The
pontiff transferred from Cagliari airport to Largo Carlo Felice,
where he was awaited by the religious and civil authorities, along
with many people holding banners demanding work. Before the Pope's
address, a young unemployed person, an entrepreneur and a union
member spoke about their experiences. Moved by their words, Francis
set aside the text he had prepared and spoke off the cuff.

“With
this meeting I wish above all to express my closeness, especially in
situations of suffering: to many young unemployed, to those in
receipt of employment insurance or in precarious employment, and to
struggling small businesses. It is a situation I know well from my
experience in Argentina. I personally have not experienced this
difficulty but my family has; my father, at a young age, went to
Argentina full of illusions about 'finding America'. And he suffered
throughout the terrible depression of the 1930s. They lost
everything! There was no work! And at home, during my childhood, I
heard talk of this time, of this suffering. … But I must say to
you: 'Have courage!'. But I am also aware I have to do everything on
my side too, so that this word 'courage' is not simply a beautiful
but passing word, so that it is not simply the cordial smile of an
priest, of an employee of the Church who comes and says to you, 'have
courage'! No! I don't want that. I want this courage to come from
within and to enable me to do all I can as a shepherd, as a man. We
must face this with solidarity, among yourselves but also between us;
we must face this historical challenge with solidarity and
intelligence”.

“This
is the second city I have visited in Italy. It is interesting to note
that both – the first, and this one – are islands. In the first I
witnessed the suffering of many people who risked their lives in
search of dignity, bread, health: the world of refugees. And I saw
the response of that city which, being an island, did not want to be
isolated, and … gives us a fine example of welcome. … Here, in
this second city-island I visit, again here I find suffering. … A
suffering, the lack of work, that leads you to … feel as if you are
without dignity! Where there is no work, there is no dignity! And
this is not a problem solely in Sardinia … or only of Italy and
certain countries in Europe, it is the consequence of a worldwide
choice, an economic system that leads to this tragedy, an economic
system that has at its centre the idol of money”.

“God
did not want there to be an idol at the centre of the world, but
rather that men and women bring the world ahead through their work.
But now, in this system devoid of ethics, at the centre there is an
idol, the world has become an idolater of this 'money-god'. Money
commands! Cash commands! All that serves this idol commands. And what
happens? To defend this idol, we pile up all our resources in the
centre and the outer extremes fall by the wayside. The elderly fall,
because in this world there is no place for them! Some speak of this
habit of 'hidden euthanasia', of not caring for them, of not taking
them into consideration. … And the young fall by the wayside too,
as they cannot find work and dignity. This world has no future. Why?
Because they have no dignity! It is difficult to have dignity without
work”.

“This
is your suffering, here. This is the prayer you call out: 'Work,
work, work'. It is a necessary prayer. Work means dignity, work means
bringing home bread, work means love! To defend this idolatrous
system we have established a 'throwaway culture': we set aside our
grandparents and set aside the young. And we must say 'no' to this
throwaway culture'. We must say, 'We want a just system! A system
that lets all of us move ahead!' We must say, 'We no longer want this
globalised economic system, that does us so much harm!' Men and women
should be at the centre, not money!”

“I
had written a number of things to say to you, but, looking at you,
these words came to me instead. … I preferred to say to you what
came into my heart, looking at you in this moment! I know it is easy
to say, never lose hope. But to all, to all of you, those who have a
job and those of you who do not, I say, 'Do not allow your hope to be
taken from you!' … Perhaps hope is like the smouldering embers
below the ashes; let us help ourselves in solidarity, let us blow on
the ashes to reignite the flames. Hope leads us on. That isn't
optimism, it is something else. But hope is not for one person alone,
hope is something we do together! We must keep hope alive together,
all of you, and all of us, who are so far away. … So, I say to you:
'Do not be robbed of hope!'. But we must be clever, as the Lord says
that the idols are more cunning than we are. The Lord invites us to
have the cunning of the snake with the goodness of the dove. We must
have this cunning, and call things by their proper name. In this
moment, in our current economic system, in our proposed globalised
system of life, there is an idol at the centre and this cannot be!
Let us struggle together to restore to the centre, at least in our
lives, men, women and the family, all of us, so that hope might live
on'.

“I
would like to finish by praying with all of you, in silence, in
silence, praying with all of you. I will say what comes to my heart
and, in silence, pray with me. Lord God, look at us! Look at this
city, this island. Look at our families. Lord, you had work, you were
a carpenter, and you were happy. Lord, we have no work. Idols try to
rob us of our dignity. Unjust systems rob us of hope. Lord, do not
leave us alone. Help us to help ourselves; so that we leave our
selfishness behind and feel in our hearts the 'we' of a people who
wish to forge ahead. Lord Jesus, who did not lack work, give us work
and teach us how to strive for work, and bless us all”.

Vatican
City, 22 September 2013 (VIS) – At 10 o'clock in the morning, after
greeting the political representatives who awaited him, the Holy
Father entered the shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria and met with a group
of sick people. At 10.45 he proceeded to the square adjacent to the
shrine where he presided over the celebration of the Holy Mass along
with Archbishop Arrigo Miglio of Cagliari. In his homily, the Pope
alluded again to unemployment, precariousness and uncertainty
regarding the future suffered by the inhabitants of Sardinia. “The
loyal cooperation of everyone is necessary, with the commitment of
leaders of institutions — even within the Church — to ensure the
fundamental rights of persons and families, and to grow more
fraternal and united. To ensure the right to work, to bring home
bread, bread earned through work!”

Francis
assured those present of his nearness and encouraged them to
“persevere in your testimony of human and Christian values, so
deeply rooted in faith and in the history of this land and
population. Always keep the light of hope alive!” He went on to
reiterate how “Mary teaches us to have complete trust in God, in
His mercy” and the importance of encountering the gaze of Mary, as
there we find reflected the gaze of the Father, who made her the
Mother of God, and the gaze of the Son from the cross, who made her
our Mother. “With this gaze Mary watches over us today. We need her
tender gaze, her maternal gaze that knows us better than anyone else,
her gaze full of compassion and care”.

Francis
urged Sardinians, in spite of their difficulties, not to forget that
they are not alone, that they are a united people and, walking
together, they may learn to look upon each other under with the
fraternal gaze Mary teaches us. “She invites us to become true
brothers”, he continued. “Let us not allow anything to come
between us and the gaze of the Virgin!. … Let us not be robbed of
her gaze!”

At
the end of the eucharistic celebration the Holy Father prayed the
Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims present, whom he entrusted to
the Virgin of Bonaria. He recalled all the Marian sanctuaries present
in Sardinia and the strong bond with Mary expressed in Sardinian
devotion and culture. He urged them to always be “true children of
Mary and of the Church, and demonstrate this in your life, following
the example of the saints”. The Pope concluded by mentioning the
beatification in Bergamo on Saturday of the Capuchin friar Tommaso
Acerbis da Olera.

Vatican
City, 22 September 2013 (VIS) - “Thank you all for being here. In
your faces I see weariness, but also hope. Be aware that you are
loved by the Lord, and also by many good people who with their
prayers and their works help to alleviate the suffering of their
neighbour. I feel at home here. … Here we feel strongly and in a
concrete way that we are all brothers. Here the only Father is our
celestial Father, and the only Master is Jesus Christ. So, the first
thing I wish to share with you is precisely this joy of having Jesus
as a Master, as a model of life. … We all face difficulties, all of
us. … All of us here – all of us – have weaknesses, all of us
are frail. No-one is better than another. We are all equal before the
Father, all of us!”

With
these words Pope Francis addressed the detainees and the poor
assisted by Caritas who gathered to meet with him yesterday in the
Cathedral of Cagliari.

“Looking
to Jesus we see that He has chosen the path of humility and service.
… He was neither indecisive nor indifferent: he made a choice and
carried it through until the end. He chose to make himself a man, and
as a man to become a servant, unto death on the cross. This is the
path of love; there is no other. Therefore we see that charity is not
a simple question of providing assistance, and far less a form of
assistance for quieting consciences. No, that is not love, that is
sales, that is business. Love is free. Charity and love are a life
choice, a way of being, of living, it is the way of humility and
solidarity. … This word 'solidarity'... in our throwaway culture,
in which what we do not need, we cast aside, leaving only those who
consider themselves righteous, who feel pure, who feel clean. Poor
things! This word, solidarity, risks being cancelled from the
dictionary, because it is an inconvenient word, because it obliges us
to look to others and to give ourselves to others with love”.

But
the path of humility and solidarity, added the Pope, was not invented
by priests; rather, it was a path taken first by Jesus, and was not a
form of “moralism or sentiment. The humility of Christ was real,
the decision to be small, to stay with other small people, with the
excluded, to stay among us, all of us sinners. But be careful: this
is not an ideology! It is a way of being and living that begins with
love, that starts from the heart of God”.

“But
it is not enough to watch, it is necessary to follow! … Jesus did
not come into the world to be seen … it is a path and the purpose
of a path is to be followed”, the Pope emphasised, thanking the
detainees for their efforts in following Him, even in their weariness
and suffering inside the prison walls. He also gave thanks to all
those who dedicate themselves to works of mercy, encouraging them to
continue and reminding them that works of charity must always be done
“with tenderness, and always with humility”.

“At
times”, he observed, “we encounter arrogance in the service of
the poor. I am sure you have seen this. … Some make themselves look
good by speaking of the poor; others exploit the poor for their own
interests or those of their group. This is a grave sin, as it means
using the needy, those who are in need, who are Jesus' flesh, for
one's own vanity. I use Jesus for my own vanity, this is a serious
sin! It would be better for people like this to stay at home!”

To
follow Jesus on the path of charity means “to go with Him to the
existential peripheries... For the Good Shepherd, that which is lost
and disdained is in need of greater care. … In the Church, the
first are those who have the greatest human, spiritual and material
need”.

Following
Christ in the path of charity means “to sow hope … those who hold
political and civil responsibilities have a task, which as citizens
they must actively undertake. Some members of the Christian community
are called to engage in the political sphere, which is a high form of
charity, as Paul VI said. But as a Church we all have a strong
responsibility, and that is to sow hope through works of solidarity,
always seeking to collaborate in the best way with the public
institutions, with respect for their various competences. Caritas is
an expression of community, and the strength of the Christian
community is helping society to grow from within, like leaven. I
think of your initiatives with detainees in prisons, I think of the
voluntary work of many associations, of solidarity with families who
suffer the most from lack of work. In this I say: have courage! Do
not allow yourselves to be robbed of hope, and carry on! On the
contrary, sow hope”.

At
the end of the meeting, Francis met to pray with the cloistered nuns
of the city of Cagliari, whom he encouraged to go forward with the
certainty that “the Lord has called you to support the Church in
prayer”.

Vatican
City, 22 September 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis met with the world of
culture in the regional theological faculty of Cagliari, managed by
Jesuit priests. The pontiff spoke of encountering paths of hope which
open up new horizons to our society; of solidarity as a way of
making history as a vital environment in which conflicts, tensions,
and opposites create a harmony that generates life. The University,
as a point of encounter between believers and non-believers, is a
context in which faith can make a contribution without encroaching on
the space of reason.

The
Holy Father began by speaking on the passage from the Gospel about
the path to Emmaus, and how we encounter the disillusionment,
deception and crisis of the two men in our current situation. “When
I speak of crisis”, he said, “I do not think of a tragedy. … We
speak of danger, but also of opportunity. This is the sense in which
I use the word. Certainly, each historical age brings critical
elements with it, but, at least in these last four centuries, we have
never seen the fundamental certainties that constitute the life of
human beings so shaken as they have been in our age”.

“Faced
with this crisis, there may be resignation, pessimism with regard to
every possibility of effective action. … Crisis may transform into
a moment of purification and reflection on our social and economic
models and a certain concept of progress that has given rise to
delusions, in order to recover all dimensions of the human person.
Discernment is not blind, or provisional; it is carried out on the
basis of ethical and spiritual criteria, requiring that we question
ourselves about what is good, and that we make reference to values
belonging to spiritual and transcendent vision; the person may never
simply be considered as 'human material'! This is perhaps the hidden
suggestion of functionalism”. Francis thus described the vital
function of the University, as a locus for wisdom in which
discernment is shaped and hope is nurtured. A place for “the
development of a culture of nearness and for the formation of
solidarity”.

Francis
affirmed that in relation to this concept of encounter in crisis, “I
have found in young politicians another way of thinking about
politics. I would not say better or worse, but a different way. They
speak differently, they are searching … their music is different to
our music. We must not be afraid!”, he encouraged them. Let us
listen to them, speak with them. They have intuition: let us be open
to their intuition. I say young politicians because that is what I
have heard, but young people in general look for a different key. To
help us towards encounter, it will help us to hear the music of these
politicians, these scientists, these young thinkers”.

Vatican
City, 22 September 2013 (VIS) – The final encounter in Pope
Francis' pastoral visit to Cagliari was with the young who, at 5
p.m., awaited him in Largo Carlo Felice, where in the morning he had
met with representatives from the world of work.

Francis
commented on the Gospel reading which related the story of the
miraculous fish, inviting those present not to “let yourselves be
overwhelmed by pessimism and distrust … when a young person is
distrustful towards life, when a young person loses hope … these
merchants of death … offer a route for when you are sad, without
hope without trust, without courage. Please, do not sell your youth
to those who sell death! You know what I am talking about”.

“Trust
in Jesus”, he continued, “and when I say this, I want to be
sincere and say to you: I do not come here to sell you an illusion. I
come here to say: there is a Person who can carry you through: trust
in Him! He is Jesus, and Jesus is not an illusion! Difficulties must
not frighten you, but rather press you to overcome them. Put out to
sea and cast your nets wide … with Jesus everything changes. The
Word of the Lord has filled the nets, and the Word of the Lord gives
effect to the missionary work of the disciples. Following Jesus is
demanding, it means not being content with small objectives, with
navigating close to the coast, but rather aiming high, with courage.
… When it seems that all is still and stagnant, when personal
problems disturb us, social unease does not find the necessary
solutions, we must not give up. The path is Jesus: let him embark
with us and let us set out to sea with Him! Everything changes with
Jesus. … Without making too many human calculations and without
worrying if the reality around you corresponds to that about which
you are sure. Set out to sea, come out of yourselves; let us come out
from our little world and open ourselves to God, so that we might be
ever more open to our brothers”.

Since
on 21 September the Pope celebrates sixty years since he was given
his priestly vocation, at the age of seventeen, Francis affirmed that
he has never regretted his decision because “even in the darkest
moments, in moments of sin, in moments of frailty, in moments of
failure, he always looked to Jesus, Who never abandoned him”.

Before
concluding the meeting with his final blessing, the Pope mentioned
the suicide attack outside a church in Peshawar, Pakistan at midday
today. “There are mistaken choices, choices of destruction. Today,
in Pakistan, because of a wrong decision, a choice of hatred, of war,
there was an attack in which over 70 people died. This choice cannot
stand. It serves nothing. Only the path of peace can build a better
world. But if you do not do it yourselves, no-one else will! This is
the problem, and this is the question I leave you with. 'Am I
willing, am I willing to take the route to building a better world?'
Let us pray an Our Father for all those who lost their lives in this
attack in Pakistan. … And may the Virgin always help us to work for
a better world, to take the path of construction, the path of peace,
and never the route of destruction and war".

Following
the meeting the Pope departed by air from Cagliari, arriving in Rome
at 8 p.m. and returning to the Vatican shortly after.

Vatican
City, 21 September 2013 (VIS) – The Pontifical Council for Social
Communications, whose president is Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli,
held its plenary assembly from 19 to 21 September, on the theme of
“The internet and the Church”. This morning the participants in
the meeting were received in audience by the Pope who, in his
address, posed three questions: the importance of communication for
the church, the internet, and the encounter with Christ.

With
regard to the first, Francis recalled that this year is the fiftieth
anniversary of the Conciliar Decree Inter Mirifica, and emphasised
that this is “more than a commemoration; the Decree expresses the
Church’s solicitude for communication in all its forms, which are
important in the work of evangelisation. In the last few decades the
various means of communication have evolved significantly, but the
Church’s concern remains the same, though it assumes new forms and
expressions. The world of communications, more and more, has become a
'living environment' for many, one in which people communicate with
one another, expanding their possibilities for knowledge and
relationship”.

Considering
the role of the Church and her use of the media, he said, “In every
situation, beyond technological considerations, I believe that the
goal is to understand how to enter into dialogue with the men and
women of today in order to appreciate their desires, their doubts and
their hopes. They are men and women who sometimes feel let down by a
Christianity that to them appears sterile and in difficulty as it
tries to communicate the depth of meaning that comes with the gift of
faith. We do in fact witness today, in the age of globalization, a
growing sense of disorientation and isolation. ... It is therefore
important to know how to dialogue and, with discernment, to use
modern technologies and social networks in such a way as to reveal a
presence that listens, converses and encourages. Allow yourselves,
without fear, to be this presence, expressing your Christian identity
as you become citizens of this environment. A Church that follows
this path learns how to walk with everybody”.

Francis
reaffirmed that in this communicative context, the question is not
one of technical considerations. “We must ask ourselves – and
here I come to the third step – are we up to the task of bringing
Christ into this area and of bringing others to meet Christ? Are we
able to communicate the face of a Church which is 'home' to all? The
challenge is to rediscover, through the means of social communication
as well as by personal contact, the beauty that is at the heart of
our existence and our journey, the beauty of faith and of the
encounter with Christ. Even in this world of communications, the
Church must warm the hearts of men and women. … The great digital
continent not only involves technology but is made up of real men and
women who bring with them their hopes, their suffering, their
concerns and their pursuit of what is true, beautiful and good. We
need to bring Christ to others, through these joys and hopes, like
Mary, who brought Christ to the hearts of men and women; we need to
pass through the clouds of indifference without losing our way; we
need to descend into the darkest night without being overcome and
disorientated; we need to listen to the dreams, without being
seduced; to share their disappointments, without becoming despondent;
to sympathize with those whose lives are falling apart, without
losing our own strength and identity”.

“It
is important to bring the solicitude and the presence of the Church
into the world of communications so as to dialogue with the men and
women of today and bring them to meet Christ. This must be done,
however, in complete awareness ... that the real problem does not
concern the acquisition of the latest technologies, even if these
make a valid presence possible. It is necessary to be absolutely
clear that the God in whom we believe, who loves all men and women
intensely, wants to reveal himself through the means at our disposal,
however poor they are, because it is he who is at work, he who
transforms and saves us. Let us pray that the Lord may make us
zealous and sustain us in the engaging mission of bringing him to the
world”.

Vatican
City, 21 September 2013 (VIS) – The Office of Liturgical
Celebrations has made public that an ordinary public consistory for
the canonisation of Blessed Popes John XXIII and John Paul II will
take place at 9 a.m. on Monday 30 September in the Consistory Hall of
the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

-
appointed Bishop Shelton J. Fabre as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux (area
, population , Catholics , priests , permanent deacons , religious ),
U.S.A. Bishop Fabre, previously auxiliary of New Orleans, U.S.A., was
born in New Road, U.S.A. in 1963, was ordained to the priesthood in
1989, and received episcopal ordination in 2007. He succeeds Bishop
Sam G. Jacobs, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same
diocese upon having reached the age limit was accepted by the Holy
Father.

-
appointed Archbishop Martin Krebs as apostolic nuncio to Fiji, Samoa
and Vanuatu. Archbishop Krebs was previously apostolic nuncio to New
Zealand, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Palau, and the Federated States of
Micronesia, and apostolic delegate in the Pacific Ocean.

On
Saturday, 21 September, the Holy Father:

-
appointed Cardinal Mauro Piacenza as penitentiary major of the
Apostolic Penitentiary. Cardinal Piacenza was previously prefect of
the Congregation for the Clergy. He succeeds Cardinal Manuel Monteiro
de Castro, whose resignation, upon reaching the age limit, was
accepted by the Holy Father.

In
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

-
confirmed Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller as prefect and Archbishop
Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer as secretary of the same Congregation;

-
appointed Msgr. Giampiero Gloder, as apostolic nuncio and president
of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, at the same time elevating
him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was previously
nunciature councillor and office chief with special duties at the
Secretariat of State.